Pacific leaders heading to next month's Forum meeting in Tuvalu have been urged to heed what activists are saying because it is the best way to ensure action in the region.
Former PIANGO chief executive Emele Duituturaga, of Fiji, left, and her successor Emeline Siale Ilolahia, of Tonga. Photo: PMN
The former head of the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs (PIANGO) Emele Duituturaga said it's critical Forum leaders remember the people they represent when they make the big decisions affecting their future and how the region speaks to the world.
"The big global development targets are ten years around the corner, but we need to be ahead of that," she said.
"I think we're at the crest of a wave. It can't just be about 2030. We have to think longer than that, to 2050, and ask "what is the Pacific we want, and how do we take it there?"
Moving activism from communities to a national conversation, from the Forum fringes and into the observer margins of the Leaders annual events has been no small feat, she said.
"Issues impacting the Pacific include climate change, sustainable development goals, fisheries, oceans and security frameworks. gender equality and violence, lifestyle diseases and reproductive health."
Ms Duituturaga was replaced as PIANGO chief executive by Tongan civil society leader Emeline Siale Ilolahia.